1. Field of the Invention
A wiper blade assembly of the type used for clearing water from a windshield or windscreen, and more particularly toward an improved connector for joining a wiper blade to any one of various style wiper arm ends including side pin and/or hook slot styles.
2. Related Art
Windshield wipers are used to remove water from the windshield or windscreen of motor vehicles and in related applications. In a typical wiper assembly, a wiper blade connects to the free end of an oscillating or sweeping wiper arm through a central connection device, known as a connector. The connector is usually clipped onto the top side of the wiper blade, generally midway along its length.
Traditionally, the free sweeping end of wiper arms are configured in one of several recurring styles which include pin-type arms, hook slot arms and straight arms. Each arm end style has a different technique for attaching (and detaching) with the connector. For example, a wiper blade assembly is connected to a pin-type arm by inserting a transverse pin through a side hole in the connector. Hook slot style arms are attached by sliding the hook over the connector until a tab or flexible tongue of the connector automatically locks in the so-called din slot of the hook. Straight arm style arm ends are typically attached by sliding the straight arm into the connector until a small stud locks in place. Each type of wiper arm end may come in a variety of sizes. For example, pin-type arms typically are designed with either 3/16 or ¼ inch diameter pins in the US, and in various metric sizes for the European markets. Hook type arms typically have hook bar thicknesses of 3 mm or 4 mm. The hook widths are commonly 9 mm, so that these two size classes are referred to as either 9×3 or 9×4 styles. The inside dimensions of a 9×3 style hook are typically smaller than the corresponding inside dimensions of a 9×4 style hook.
For replacement blade sales, the connector must be able to accommodate several, or more preferably all, of these arm end styles and sizes. Much attention has therefore been given to the configuration of the connector, together with the method in which it is fixed to the wiper blade. Another concern is the robustness of the connector. The connector is largely exposed to the environment and if damaged may lead to unintended disconnection of the wiper blade. For example, impact by a foreign object such as a stone thrown by a passing car or an ice scraper can conceivably cause the connector to release its otherwise secure engagement with the wiper blade, resulting in unexpected disassembly from the wiper arm.
Another disadvantage inherent in prior art connector designs resides in the self-locking retention features used by 9×3 and 9×4 hook ends on a wiper arm. Typically, in order to install a new wiper blade to a hook style wiper arm, and to remove same, the wiper blade must be rotated to a “service up” position where the wiper blade body is placed substantially perpendicular to the wiper arm. Only in this service up position can the wiper blade be installed or removed from a hook style arm due to self-locking stop features incorporated into the connector. It will be appreciated that not all vehicle wiper assemblies include a convenient service up position and therefore changing the wiper blades on hook style arms can be difficult.
Therefore, there is a need in this art for an improved connector between the wiper blade and wiper arm which will adapt to a variety of arm end designs without need of auxiliary adaptors, without requiring a service up position for some hook style arm configurations, and which is not susceptible to damage if impacted by a foreign object such as thrown stone or an over-zealous ice scraper.